UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Robert E. Johnson announced today that the University is planning for Commencement ceremonies on campus on October 9 and 10, 2020. Due to the spread of COVID-19, UMass Dartmouth was forced to cancel ceremonies originally scheduled for May 8 and 11, 2020. The UMass Law School Commencement ceremony is planned to take place on October 9 in the Angus Bailey Auditorium in the Campus Center. Undergraduate and graduate Commencement ceremonies are planned to take place on October 10 in the Vietnam Veterans Peace Memorial Amphitheater.

“The challenges our students overcame this semester to reach graduation have been monumental,” said Chancellor Robert E. Johnson. “They deserve a ceremony on campus to celebrate their hard work and honor the dedication of our faculty and staff who guided them through these turbulent times.”

On March 11, UMass Dartmouth announced that all face-to-face courses would be delivered online, residence halls were to close, and employees were to work remotely for the remainder of the semester to protect the safety and wellbeing of the entire campus community. The University pivoted to a nearly total virtual operation in the matter of days with minimal interruptions to student academic progress. To aid in this transition, digital teaching workshops were offered to faculty and laptops were offered to students.

While the University is committed to holding on-campus Commencement ceremonies, it will continue to follow all federal and Massachusetts safety guidelines and protocols. If current social distancing norms continue into fall 2020, these ceremonies will be rescheduled to spring 2021.